Hamad shines as Sweden win in Malta
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
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Malta 0-1 Sweden
Captain Jiloan Hamad was the star of the show at the Hibernians Ground, scoring the only goal and dictating the pace of the Group 2 game.
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Jiloan Hamad scored the only goal as Sweden came away from Malta with a 1-0 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group 2 win.
The Azerbaijan-born midfielder, who has been playing in the UEFA Europa League with Malmö FF, sent a shot wide after five minutes following a blunder by Malta goalkeeper Steve Sultana, but he made amends on 36 minutes, blasting the ball into the net after connecting with an Astrit Adjarević corner.
Miguel Ciantar went close for Malta after 42 minutes when Karl-Johan Johnsson left a post unguarded, but it took sterling efforts from Sultana to keep out Rasmus Jönsson and Samuel Armenteros after the break. Rowen Muscat had a goal disallowed for the home side on 73 minutes, but Sweden otherwise looked largely untroubled.